Texas City official charged in deaths of 2 on side of road

Dee Haney, was arrested and charged with two counts of Intoxication Manslaughter with bonds totaling to $100,000.00.

Photo: Galveston Police Department

A Texas City commissioner was charged with two counts of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle early Monday morning after her pickup hit and killed two men standing on the side of the road near the Galveston Causeway.

According to investigators, the driver charged with manslaughter was identified as Texas City Commissioner Dee Ann Haney, 54.

Police arrested Haney after she admitted she was under the influence of marijuana and had smoked it before her crash, according to Galveston County charging documents.

Galveston police officers, paramedics and firefighters were dispatched to the crash in the 8000 block of Avenue J.

Police say Haney was driving a white Ford F-150 when she hit and killed two men on the side of the road. The men and a witness were attempting to secure items in the bed of their black Toyota Tacoma as Haney drove north in the far right lane.

Haney's vehicle left the lane, veered onto the shoulder and struck the two men, according to police. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have not released the names of the two men who died, but county court records identify them as Van Le, 58, and Phue Le, 32.

Haney was detained on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. After a series of tests conducted by both Galveston police and Texas state troopers, Haney was arrested and charged, with bonds totaling $100,000.

Haney is a safety engineer with more than 25 years of experience in health, environmental and emergency management. She took office in 2004.

John D. Harden is a data and breaking news reporter for the Houston Chronicle.

He joined the Chronicle in spring 2014.

In 2017, National Press Foundation honored the Houston Chronicle for it's series Chemical Breakdown. The judges praised the application John helped code, which was central to the series. The application allowed readers to look up chemical facilities with a "potential for harm" that exist in their backyards.